Best tips/products for dusting & polishing of wood furniture?

wbfairApril 22, 2009

Hello all

I know this has probably been posted here many times and sorry for a reposting and for its length but I could really really use some advice.

I have several wood furniture items in my home, including a complete 2nd floor of 45 year old wood flooring that was refinished about a year ago to set of new book shelves that I just got done building and finishing with polyurethane.

I have and get a great amount of dust in my house and have to dust quite often and so one, I was looking for something to use for frequent dustings and or polishings and two, I would like to have something for more long term protection of both the finish and the proper appearance of the wood.

For dusting and frequent cleanings and polishings, I have used products such as endust and pledge in the past but I keep reading more and more about how those are not good for several reasons including the issues behind their silicon content.

Ive seen many recommendations for olive oil and lemon juice for a polisher and or cleaner but I just have concerns for using that on a regular basis, ie once a week or so such as, is this to often for this to be used and/or, are there any issues arising from that over the long term or on a more permanent basis such as the ones you can have with silicon based products or in regards to some form of build-up? Also in regards to this, I have to say that I am actually a bit surprised this is so highly regarded as a polisher as I would think that being an oil, it would actually attract more dust, but is this not the case?

So then for a more long term finish and appearance protection, I was thinking of some form of paste wax such as beeswax or Butches that I might apply once a month to every six depending what was need which IÂm sure will polish and protect well but is it typical that inevitable this will cause a build up over time using it this much and will need to be striped and reapplied to deal with that once it has and since it is not something I would not do regularly to dust, how will the olive oil lemon juice polishing react with that?

I would think this could be problem as I would think the lemon juice would act as a dissolver of the wax and may affect its appearance.

On a side note for the floors, I wasnÂt thinking of the waxing for that as I would assume that could make them too slippery plus as they actually see the most dirt and dust, I would assume that waxing would just encapsulate that which is also why IÂm not thinking of using any floor polish products such as Guardsman or Bona products. So I was thinking the olive oil/lemon juice would be better for that unless that as well creates a form of encapsulation.

Btw I have heard that white vinegar and water is a good cleaner but IÂm assuming that does not do much to polish and or protect and I wonder how that might affect either the olive oil and lemon juice and or even any waxÂs if I were to use that as a dusting cleaner ?

As it maybe understood from all these questions I donÂt know have had much experience with any of this so any help is appreciated.

What I do for my wood furniture (oak,teak) is dust with a microfibre cloth, then pour on a small amount of royal Guardsman polish and rub it In well. I find RG in my local grocery store. A little goes a long way.